The Story of the Third Calender, Son of a King

My
story, said the Third Calender, is quite different from those of my two friends. It was fate that deprived
them of the sight of their right eyes, but mine was lost by my own folly.

My name is Agib, and I am the son of a king called Cassib, who reigned over a large kingdom, which had for its
capital one of the finest seaport towns in the world.

When I succeeded to my father's throne my first care was to visit the provinces on the mainland, and then to
sail to the numerous islands which lay off the shore, in order to gain the hearts of my subjects. These
voyages gave me such a taste for sailing that I soon determined to explore more distant seas, and commanded a
fleet of large ships to be got ready without delay. When they were properly fitted out I embarked on my
expedition.

For forty days wind and weather were all in our favour, but the next night a terrific storm arose, which blew
us hither and thither for ten days, till the pilot confessed that he had quite lost his bearings. Accordingly
a sailor was sent up to the masthead to try to catch a sight of land, and reported that nothing was to be seen
but the sea and sky, except a huge mass of blackness that lay astern.

On hearing this the pilot grew white, and, beating his breast, he cried, "Oh, sir, we are lost, lost!" till
the ship's crew trembled at they knew not what. When he had
recovered himself a little, and was able to explain the cause of his terror, he replied, in answer to my
question, that we had drifted far out of our course, and that the following day about noon we should come near
that mass of darkness, which, said he, is nothing but the famous Black Mountain. This mountain is composed of
adamant, which attracts to itself all the iron and nails in your ship; and as we are helplessly drawn nearer,
the force of attraction will become so great that the iron and nails will fall out of the ships and cling to
the mountain, and the ships will sink to the bottom with all that are in them. This it is that causes the side
of the mountain towards the sea to appear of such a dense blackness.

As may be supposed—continued the pilot—the mountain sides are very rugged, but on the summit
stands a brass dome supported on pillars, and bearing on top the figure of a brass horse, with a rider on his
back. This rider wears a breastplate of lead, on which strange signs and figures are engraved, and it is said
that as long as this statue remains on the dome, vessels will never cease to perish at the foot of the
mountain.

So saying, the pilot began to weep afresh, and the crew, fearing their last hour had come, made their wills,
each one in favour of his fellow.

At noon next day, as the pilot had foretold, we were so near to the Black Mountain that we saw all the nails
and iron fly out of the ships and dash themselves against the mountain with a horrible noise. A moment after
the vessels fell asunder and sank, the crews with them. I alone managed to grasp a floating plank, and was
driven ashore by the wind, without even a scratch. What was my joy on finding myself at the bottom of some
steps which led straight up the mountain, for there was not another inch to the right or the left where a man
could set his foot. And, indeed, even the steps themselves were so narrow and so steep that, if the lightest
breeze had arisen, I should certainly have been blown into the sea.

When I reached the top I found the brass dome and the statue exactly as the pilot had described, but was too
wearied with all I had gone through to do more than glance at them, and, flinging myself under the dome, was
asleep in an instant. In my dreams an old man appeared to me and said, "Hearken, Agib! As soon as thou art
awake dig up the ground underfoot, and thou shalt find a bow of brass and three arrows of lead. Shoot the
arrows at the statue, and the rider shall tumble into the sea, but the horse will fall down by thy side, and
thou shalt bury him in the place from which thou tookest the bow and arrows. This being done the sea will rise
and cover the mountain, and on it thou wilt perceive the figure of a metal man seated in a boat, having an oar
in each hand. Step on board and let him conduct thee; but if thou wouldest behold thy kingdom again, see that
thou takest not the name of Allah into thy mouth."

Having uttered these words the vision left me, and I woke, much comforted. I sprang up and drew the bow and
arrows out of the ground, and with the third shot the horseman fell with a great crash into the sea, which
instantly began to rise, so rapidly, that I had hardly time to bury the horse before the boat approached me. I
stepped silently in and sat down, and the metal man pushed off, and rowed without stopping for nine days,
after which land appeared on the horizon. I was so overcome with joy at this sight that I forgot all the old
man had told me, and cried out, "Allah be praised! Allah be praised!"

The words were scarcely out of my mouth when the boat and man sank from beneath me, and left me floating on
the surface. All that day and the next night I swam and floated alternately, making as well as I could for the
land which was nearest to me. At last my strength began to fail, and I gave myself up for lost, when the wind
suddenly rose, and a huge wave cast me on a flat shore. Then, placing myself in safety, I hastily spread
my clothes out to dry in the sun, and flung myself on the warm ground to rest.

The overthrow of the brazen horseman.

Next morning I dressed myself and began to look about me. There seemed to be no one but myself on the island,
which was covered with fruit trees and watered with streams, but seemed a long distance from the mainland
which I hoped to reach. Before, however, I had time to feel cast down, I saw a ship making directly for the
island, and not knowing whether it would contain friends or foes, I hid myself in the thick branches of a
tree.

The sailors ran the ship into a creek, where ten slaves landed, carrying spades and pickaxes. In the middle of
the island they stopped, and after digging some time, lifted up what seemed to be a trapdoor. They then
returned to the vessel two or three times for furniture and provisions, and finally were accompanied by an old
man, leading a handsome boy of fourteen or fifteen years of age. They all disappeared down the trapdoor, and
after remaining below for a few minutes came up again, but without the boy, and let down the trapdoor,
covering it with earth as before. This done, they entered the ship and set sail.

As soon as they were out of sight, I came down from my tree, and went to the place where the boy had been
buried. I dug up the earth till I reached a large stone with a ring in the centre. This, when removed,
disclosed a flight of stone steps which led to a large room richly furnished and lighted by tapers. On a pile
of cushions, covered with tapestry, sat the boy. He looked up, startled and frightened at the sight of a
stranger in such a place, and to soothe his fears, I at once spoke: "Be not alarmed, sir, whoever you may be.
I am a king, and the son of a king, and will do you no hurt. On the contrary, perhaps I have been sent here to
deliver you out of this tomb, where you have been buried alive."

Hearing my words, the young man recovered himself, and when I had ended, he said, "The reasons, Prince,
that have caused me to be buried in this place are so strange that they cannot but surprise you. My father is
a rich merchant, owning much land and many ships, and has great dealings in precious stones, but he never
ceased mourning that he had no child to inherit his wealth.

"At length one day he dreamed that the following year a son would be born to him, and when this actually
happened, he consulted all the wise men in the kingdom as to the future of the infant. One and all they said
the same thing. I was to live happily till I was fifteen, when a terrible danger awaited me, which I should
hardly escape. If, however, I should succeed in doing so, I should live to a great old age. And, they added,
when the statue of the brass horse on the top of the mountain of adamant is thrown into the sea by Agib, the
son of Cassib, then beware, for fifty days later your son shall fall by his hand!

"This prophecy struck the heart of my father with such woe, that he never got over it, but that did not
prevent him from attending carefully to my education till I attained, a short time ago, my fifteenth birthday.
It was only yesterday that the news reached him that ten days previously the statue of brass had been thrown
into the sea, and he at once set about hiding me in this underground chamber, which was built for the purpose,
promising to fetch me out when the forty days have passed. For myself, I have no fears, as Prince Agib is not
likely to come here to look for me."

I listened to his story with an inward laugh as to the absurdity of my ever wishing to cause the death of this
harmless boy, whom I hastened to assure of my friendship and even of my protection; begging him, in return, to
convey me in his father's ship to my own country. I need hardly say that I took special care not to inform him
that I was the Agib whom he dreaded.

The day passed in conversation on various subjects, and I found him a youth of ready wit and of some
learning. I took on myself the duties of a servant, held the basin and water for him when he washed, prepared the
dinner and set it on the table. He soon grew to love me, and for thirty-nine days we spent as pleasant an
existence as could be expected underground.

The morning of the fortieth dawned, and the young man when he woke gave thanks in an outburst of joy that the
danger was passed. "My father may be here at any moment," said he, "so make me, I pray you, a bath of hot
water, that I may bathe, and change my clothes, and be ready to receive him."

So I fetched the water as he asked, and washed and rubbed him, after which he lay down again and slept a
little. When he opened his eyes for the second time, he begged me to bring him a melon and some sugar, that he
might eat and refresh himself.

I soon chose a fine melon out of those which remained, but could find no knife to cut it with. "Look in the
cornice over my head," said he, "and I think you will see one." It was so high above me, that I had some
difficulty in reaching it, and catching my foot in the covering of the bed, I slipped, and fell right upon the
young man, the knife going straight into his heart.

At this awful sight I shrieked aloud in my grief and pain. I threw myself on the ground and rent my clothes
and tore my hair with sorrow. Then, fearing to be punished as his murderer by the unhappy father, I raised the
great stone which blocked the staircase, and quitting the underground chamber, made everything fast as before.

Scarcely had I finished when, looking out to sea, I saw the vessel heading for the island, and, feeling that
it would be useless for me to protest my innocence, I again concealed myself among the branches of a tree that
grew near by.

The old man and his slaves pushed off in a boat directly the ship touched land, and walked quickly towards the
entrance to the underground chamber; but when they were
near enough to see that the earth had been disturbed, they paused and changed colour. In silence they all went
down and called to the youth by name; then for a moment I heard no more. Suddenly a fearful scream rent the
air, and the next instant the slaves came up the steps, carrying with them the body of the old man, who had
fainted from sorrow! Laying him down at the foot of the tree in which I had taken shelter, they did their best
to recover him, but it took a long while. When at last he revived, they left him to dig a grave, and then
laying the young man's body in it, they threw in the earth.

This ended, the slaves brought up all the furniture that remained below, and put it on the vessel, and
breaking some boughs to weave a litter, they laid the old man on it, and carried him to the ship, which spread
its sails and stood out to sea.

So once more I was quite alone, and for a whole month I walked daily over the island, seeking for some chance
of escape. At length one day it struck me that my prison had grown much larger, and that the mainland seemed
to be nearer. My heart beat at this thought, which was almost too good to be true. I watched a little longer:
there was no doubt about it, and soon there was only a tiny stream for me to cross.

Even when I was safe on the other side I had a long distance to go on the mud and sand before I reached dry
ground, and very tired I was, when far in front of me I caught sight of a castle of red copper, which, at
first sight, I took to be a fire. I made all the haste I could, and after some miles of hard walking stood
before it, and gazed at it in astonishment, for it seemed to me the most wonderful building I had ever beheld.
While I was still staring at it, there came towards me a tall old man, accompanied by ten young men, all
handsome, and all blind of the right eye.

Now in its way, the spectacle of ten men walking together, all blind of the right eye, is as uncommon as
that of a copper castle, and I was turning over in my mind what could be the meaning of this strange fact,
when they greeted me warmly, and inquired what had brought me there. I replied that my story was somewhat
long, but that if they would take the trouble to sit down, I should be happy to tell it them. When I had
finished, the young men begged that I would go with them to the castle, and I joyfully accepted their offer.
We passed through what seemed to me an endless number of rooms, and came at length into a large hall,
furnished with ten small blue sofas for the ten young men, which served as beds as well as chairs, and with
another sofa in the middle for the old man. As none of the sofas could hold more than one person, they bade me
place myself on the carpet, and to ask no questions about anything I should see.

After a little while the old man rose and brought in supper, which I ate heartily, for I was very hungry. Then
one of the young men begged me to repeat my story, which had struck them all with astonishment, and when I had
ended, the old man was bidden to "do his duty," as it was late, and they wished to go to bed. At these words
he rose, and went to a closet, from which he brought out ten basins, all covered with blue stuff. He set one
before each of the young men, together with a lighted taper.

When the covers were taken off the basins, I saw they were filled with ashes, coal-dust, and lamp-black. The
young men mixed these all together, and smeared the whole over their heads and faces. They then wept and beat
their breasts, crying, "This is the fruit of idleness, and of our wicked lives."

This ceremony lasted nearly the whole night, and when it stopped they washed themselves carefully, and put on
fresh clothes, and lay down to sleep.

All this while I had refrained from questions, though my curiosity almost seemed to burn a hole in me, but the
following day, when we went out to walk, I said to them, "Gentlemen, I must disobey your wishes, for I can
keep
silence no more. You do not appear to lack wit, yet you do such actions as none but madmen could be capable
of. Whatever befalls me I cannot forbear asking, `Why you daub your faces with black, and how it is you are
all blind of one eye?'" But they only answered that such questions were none of my business, and that I should
do well to hold my peace.

During that day we spoke of other things, but when night came, and the same ceremony was repeated, I implored
them most earnestly to let me know the meaning of it all.

"It is for your own sake," replied one of the young men, "that we have not granted your request, and to
preserve you from our unfortunate fate. If, however, you wish to share our destiny we will delay no longer."

I answered that whatever might be the consequence I wished to have my curiosity satisfied, and that I would
take the result on my own head. He then assured me that, even when I had lost my eye, I should be unable to
remain with them, as their number was complete, and could not be added to. But to this I replied that, though
I should be grieved to part company with such honest gentlemen, I would not be turned from my resolution on
that account.

On hearing my determination my ten hosts then took a sheep and killed it, and handed me a knife, which they
said I should by-and-by find useful. "We must sew you into this sheep-skin," said they, "and then leave you. A
fowl of monstrous size, called a roc, will appear in the air, taking you to be a sheep. He will snatch you up
and carry you into the sky, but be not alarmed, for he will bring you safely down and lay you on the top of a
mountain. When you are on the ground cut the skin with the knife and throw it off. As soon as the roc sees you
he will fly away from fear, but you must walk on till you come to a castle covered with plates of gold,
studded with jewels. Enter boldly at the gate, which always stands
open, but do not ask us to tell you what we saw or what befel us there, for that you will learn for yourself.
This only we may say, that it cost us each our right eye, and has imposed upon us our nightly penance."

After the young gentlemen had been at the trouble of sewing the sheep-skin on me they left me, and retired to
the hall. In a few minutes the roc appeared, and bore me off to the top of the mountain in his huge claws as
lightly as if I had been a feather, for this great white bird is so strong that he has been known to carry
even an elephant to his nest in the hills.

The young men sew up Agib in the sheepskin.

The moment my feet touched the ground I took out my knife and cut the threads that bound me, and the sight of
me in my proper clothes so alarmed the roc that he spread
his wings and flew away. Then I set out to seek the castle.

I found it after wandering about for half a day, and never could I have imagined anything so glorious. The
gate led into a square court, into which opened a hundred doors, ninety-nine of them being of rare woods and
one of gold. Through each of these doors I caught glimpses of splendid gardens or of rich storehouses.

Entering one of the doors which was standing open I found myself in a vast hall where forty young ladies,
magnificently dressed, and of perfect beauty, were reclining. As soon as they saw me they rose and uttered
words of welcome, and even forced me to take possession of a seat that was higher than their own, though my
proper place was at their feet. Not content with this, one brought me splendid garments, while another filled
a basin with scented water and poured it over my hands, and the rest busied themselves with preparing
refreshments. After I had eaten and drunk of the most delicate food and rarest wines, the ladies crowded round
me and begged me to tell them all my adventures.

By the time I had finished night had fallen, and the ladies lighted up the castle with such a prodigious
quantity of tapers that even day could hardly have been brighter. We then sat down to a supper of dried fruits
and sweetmeats, after which some sang and others danced. I was so well amused that I did not notice how the
time was passing, but at length one of the ladies approached and informed me it was midnight, and that, as I
must be tired, she would conduct me to the room that had been prepared for me. Then, bidding me good-night, I
was left to sleep.

Agib entertained by the ladies.

I spent the next thirty-nine days in much the same way as the first, but at the close of that time the ladies
appeared (as was their custom) in my room one morning to inquire how I had slept, and instead of looking
cheerful and smiling they were in floods of tears. "Prince," said
they, "we must leave you, and never was it so hard to part from any of our friends. Most likely we shall never
see you again, but if you have sufficient self-command perhaps we may yet look forward to a meeting."

"Ladies," I replied, "what is the meaning of these strange words—I pray you to tell me?"

"Know then," answered one of them, "that we are all princesses—each a king's daughter. We live in this
castle together, in the way that you have seen, but at the end of every year secret duties call us away for
the space of forty days. The time has now come; but before we depart, we will leave you our keys, so that you
may not lack entertainment during our absence. But one thing we would ask of you. The Golden Door, alone,
forbear to open, as you value your own peace, and the happiness of your life. That door once unlocked, we must
bid you farewell for ever."

Weeping, I assured them of my prudence, and after embracing me tenderly, they went their ways.

Every day I opened two or three fresh doors, each of which contained behind it so many curious things that I
had no chance of feeling dull, much as I regretted the absence of the ladies. Sometimes it was an orchard,
whose fruit far exceeded in bigness any that grew in my father's garden. Sometimes it was a court planted with
roses, jessamine, dafeodils, hyacinths and anemones, and a thousand other flowers of which I did not know the
names. Or again, it would be an aviary, fitted with all kinds of singing birds, or a treasury heaped up with
precious stones; but whatever I might see, all was perfect of its own sort.

Thirty-nine days passed away more rapidly than I could have conceived possible, and the following morning the
princesses were to return to the castle. But alas! I had explored every corner, save only the room that was
shut in by the Golden Door, and I had no longer anything to amuse myself with. I stood before the forbidden
place for some
time, gazing at its beauty; then a happy inspiration struck me, that because I unlocked the door
it was not necessary that I should enter the chamber. It would be enough for me to stand outside and view
whatever hidden wonders might be therein.

Thus arguing against my own conscience, I turned the key, when a smell rushed out that, pleasant though it
was, overcame me completely, and I fell fainting across the threshold. Instead of being warned by this
accident, directly I came to myself I went for a few moments into the air to shake of the effects of the
perfume, and then entered boldly. I found myself in a large, vaulted room, lighted by tapers, scented with
aloes and ambergris, standing in golden candle-sticks, whilst gold and silver lamps hung from the ceiling.

Though objects of rare workmanship lay heaped around me, I paid them scant attention, so much was I struck by
a great black horse which stood in one corner, the handsomest and best-shaped animal I had ever seen. His
saddle and bridle were of massive gold, curiously wrought; one side of his trough was filled with clean barley
and sesame, and the other with rose water. I led the animal into the open air, and then jumped on his back,
shaking the reins as I did so, but as he never stirred, I touched him lightly with a switch I had picked up in
his stable. No sooner did he feel the stroke, than he spread his wings (which I had not perceived before), and
flew up with me straight into the sky. When he had reached a prodigious height, he next darted back to earth,
and alighted on the terrace belonging to a castle, shaking me violently out of the saddle as he did so, and
giving me such a blow with his tail, that he knocked out my right eye.

The black horse leaves Agib on the terrace.

Half-stunned as I was with all that had happened to me, I rose to my feet, thinking as I did so of what had
befallen the ten young men, and watching the horse which was soaring into the clouds. I left the terrace and
wandered on till I came to a hall, which I knew to have been the one from which the roc had taken me, by the
ten blue sofas against the wall.

The ten young men were not present when I first entered, but came in soon after, accompanied by the old man.
They greeted me kindly, and bewailed my misfortune, though, indeed, they had expected nothing less. "All that
has happened to you," they said, "we also have undergone, and we should be enjoying the same happiness still,
had we not opened the Golden Door while the princesses were absent. You have been no wiser than we, and have
suffered the same punishment. We would gladly receive you among us, to perform such penance as we do, but we
have already told you that this is impossible. Depart, therefore, from hence and go to the Court of Bagdad,
where you shall meet with him that can decide your destiny." They told me the way I was to travel, and I left
them.

On the road I caused my beard and eyebrows to be shaved, and put on a Calender's habit. I have had a long
journey, but arrived this evening in the city, where I met my brother Calenders at the gate, being strangers
like myself. We wondered much at one another, to see we were all blind of the same eye, but we had no leisure
to discourse at length of our common calamities. We had only so much time as to come hither to implore those
favours which you have been generously pleased to grant us.

He finished, and it was Zobeida's turn to speak: "Go wherever you please," she said, addressing all three. "I
pardon you all, but you must depart immediately out of this house."